I need to find out if the school I chose is legit....

[Aporia]

I signed up with a massage therapy school here in Las Vegas. I qualify for financial aid and the pell grant for school. However, since the very beginning it's been a painfully slow process to get information from this school and small mistakes here and there on their part. I was selected for verification through financial aid and filled out the forms and turned in the paper work for it 3 weeks ago now and the school here claims that, quote

" The main offices are connected to the FA services via a network computer and the network computer went down so there is no communications until they can get someone to fix the network printer."

This is an exact quote from their email. Why would a printer have anything to do with it? It seems fishy to me....maybe it's because I am not familiar with how the process works. They are a very small school. 8-15 students per class. I just want to make sure I'm covering my basis so that I don't start and 5 months later they go out of business. Maybe I'm being paranoid.

Does anyone know how I can check into a school other than BBB to see if there has been any problems with them in the past?

Thanks for input!

 

[JanetTiettotsscold]

I would find some recent graduates and interveiw them, see what they thought of the schools policies and procedures as well as their curriculum.
ALways a good thing to do when thinking about a school.

 

[livie]

I would find some recent graduates and interveiw them, see what they thought of the schools policies and procedures as well as their curriculum.
ALways a good thing to do when thinking about a school.

Not to sound moronic, but how would I go about tracking them down?

 

[greennupa]

That dear, I have no idea. I'm from North Dakota (the whole state is one big 'small town'), its easy as h*ll to find anybody for anything here by just asking a couple people. I suspect Las Vegas is a different story all together.

I imagine you would just start by asking 'around'. The school maybe, for recent graduates? Going right to the campus? Posting something on Craigslist? LV is large enough to have a massage group of some sort eh? Maybe a Las Vegas MTs Yahoo group? I dunno.
I am the type of person who if I want to know something I have no problem calling a list of 25 therapists out of the phone book, introducing myself and mentioning that I am looking to talk to graduates of such and such massage school. Sounds odd, but its how I work. :/ I just think its a small world once you get into it and if someone else has information I want - I'll ask.

If you go any of these routs you might find exactly what you are looking for, hopefully they will have wonderful things to say about your schooL!! BUt you might need to be a little persistant and keep on looking.


I'm dieing for someone to ask me about a couple schools in this state, absolutely horrible. I would love to save them the trouble. I didn't go to these schools but I have worked with their graduates and I know their reputation. :roll:

Hope this helps even a tiny bit, or others post some good advice here

 

[Nibbles]

Those are great ideas! Thanks for the follow up. I have no problem calling around....wouldn't have thought of that. I'll keep ya posted!

 

[g0t_rice57]

I would also check with the state and Better Business Bureau.

 

[Steve]

I would also check with the state and Better Business Bureau.

They aren't listed at all with BBB, but I do plan on checking with the State tomorrow. Thanks!

 

[R Nino]

Not to sound moronic, but how would I go about tracking them down?

Can you ask the school itself? I'd be concerned if the school hides people who have completed their program.

 

[Antonia]

Not to sound moronic, but how would I go about tracking them down?

Can you ask the school itself? I'd be concerned if the school hides people who have completed their program.

That's something I should ask them....I wonder if they would hesitate because it's someone else's private information that they're giving out?

 

[Mark P]

How about contacting other MT's in your area, letting them know you plan to go to that school and ask if they know anything....

PS: I don't particularly care for the BBB -- recent comment I made which sort of sums up that many people just use the BBB to file complaints and although it gives you an idea as to if there was a complaint... it could be that then you're just getting the opportunists input (because they want to be heard).

I have a client who is also a ER Veterinarian. Every since they got involved with the BBB (Better Business Bureau), they have had a huge increase in patient complaints. It seems people become opportunists at any chance they can get, and maybe it's best not to encourage that if you don't have to.

 

[Mitch G]

How about contacting other MT's in your area, letting them know you plan to go to that school and ask if they know anything....

PS: I don't particularly care for the BBB -- recent comment I made which sort of sums up that many people just use the BBB to file complaints and although it gives you an idea as to if there was a complaint... it could be that then you're just getting the opportunists input (because they want to be heard).

I have a client who is also a ER Veterinarian. Every since they got involved with the BBB (Better Business Bureau), they have had a huge increase in patient complaints. It seems people become opportunists at any chance they can get, and maybe it's best not to encourage that if you don't have to.

I think I will contact other MTs. There aren't that many schools here in LV for Massage Therapy - one of them surely knows something. Thanks so much for all the input!

 

[mo.lukwago900]

I need to find out if the school I chose is legit....

I dont want to seem like :spam4: but since our website is free to use, I hope it helps. We are trying to help with this type of issue by allowing comments/reviews to be given of each massage therapy school. We are not yet in Nevada, but you could request us to add the school and when we did, you would be able to post questions under it allowing others to respond with their input. While we hope all reviews are positive, the truth in the end is what we seek.

 

[G_Zidane]

I need to find out if the school I chose is legit....

Why not go on Facebook and search for students & grads. Lots of schools have their own page

 

[Agent99]

I need to find out if the school I chose is legit....

i realize this is an old thread, but i have a few suggestions that weren't mentioned in the other responses and while it may too late to help the original poster, maybe someone with similar concerns will check this thread in the future.

i was concerned about this issue when i "shopped" for a school. i did a few things -

first, i went to the ncbtmb website to see if the school was registered with them - http://www.ncbtmb.org/cgi-bin/SchoolSearch.cgi

then i looked up the contact information for the professional licensing board in my state - i called and asked them.

i also checked out the BBB site, but keep in mind that just because a business isn't registered with the BBB doesn't mean they aren't a legitimate business.

last, i searched for listings of local businesses that might employ massage therapists - chiropractors, physical therapy and rehabilitation centers, spas, etc. and asked if they heard of the school and whether it had a good or bad reputation.

i have to say that i'm very happy i did these things. i love the school i'm going to and i may have chosen otherwise if i hadn't done this bit of checking around.